Hopefully, you already understand the general need for HVAC maintenance if you’re a Santa Rosa home or business owner with central heating and air. After all, you want to make sure that your building is always going to be a comfortable place for the people who routinely occupy it, including yourself! However, it’s also important to ensure that your HVAC system is always cost-effective, so that it won’t require vast amounts of energy — and money — to run. Fortunately, some services, such as heating duct cleaning, can help you accomplish both of those goals.
Heating duct cleaning is one of those things that many HVAC owners take for granted until it’s too late. You might be surprised by how many HVAC owners think they don’t need to call a professional until their system has stopped working entirely… then again, maybe you’ve been one of those owners yourself until now! Well, we’re here to disabuse you of that notion. The truth is that routine services such as heating duct cleaning save you money and effort over time by making your HVAC more reliable and less prone to potentially expensive problems.
Don’t believe us? Don’t worry. Below, we’ll show you exactly how duct cleaning benefits you.
What Makes Heating Duct Cleaning Useful?
Duct cleaning is always useful because it prevents material from piling up in the ducts where it can cause problems. Typically, the channels are protected by filters that strain particles out of the air entering your system and prevent it from moving into the ducts where it can settle. However, many HVAC owners forget to replace their filters monthly or clean them if they use reusable electrostatic ones. Even those who do cannot expect their filters to work perfectly. A certain amount of debris will naturally find its way into ducts over time, and the only way to remove it is to call a licensed professional who can perform duct cleaning services.
Why does a small amount of debris in your ducts matter? Admittedly a little dust won’t affect your air quality — right?
Wrong. A little dust is nothing to worry about, but the trouble is that HVAC owners tend to leave their duct cleaning until it is long overdue. When you neglect to have your ducts cleaned for that long, contaminants do more than float around in the air. They tend to congeal, forming masses that can eventually block the duct entirely. As a result, the treated air will never reach the people who need it, and any air that does make it through will be contaminated by whatever it has had to pass through first.
The most pressing problem that arises from poor duct cleaning occurs when the flow of air through your system is impeded completely. When this happens, you may encounter the following issues:
- No ability to change the temperature in your building. Since it’s air that your furnace is heating, you won’t feel any warmer until that air reaches you. If it becomes blocked on its way through the ducts — or if it ends up being slowed down to the point where it cools off before it enters the room you’re occupying — then you won’t’ feel a change in temperature at all.
- Steadily increasing utility costs. Not only will you not register a change in the temperature throughout your building, but your thermostat won’t either. As such, it will continue to send signals to your furnace that the air needs to be warmer, making the system work harder than necessary for no payoff.
- Air quality problems that can exacerbate pre-existing respiratory symptoms and increase the risk of contracting other health conditions. Your HVAC system does more than change the temperature in your building. It also improves the quality of the air you breathe — at least; it does when that air isn’t being contaminated by encountering debris along the way. However, breathing air laced with dust and whatever else has become trapped in your ducts can have consequences for your health. People with asthma should be especially concerned since this has been known to make their symptoms worse.
- Premature wear and tear on the components in your heating and air conditioning systems. Remember earlier, when we said that your thermostat’s confusion caused the whole system to work harder than necessary? All that hard work can have a damaging effect on numerous vital components. You might find your igniter or pilot light wearing out, or any number of other malfunctions. It’s best to avoid these issues (and the costs of solving them) by simply having your ducts cleaned on a regular basis.
When Should Heating Duct Cleaning Take Place?
For best results, make sure that you arrange for a licensed professional to perform heating duct cleaning in your building at least once each year. Doing so can help you avoid the problems listed above and ensure that you experience reliable heating and air conditioning in your building for many years to come.
Check with us here at Valley Comfort Heating and Air, our customers love our attention to detail and our friendly, affordable service. (707) 539-4533
